Work and Play
by Katrina Halliwell
Summary: First in "The Complications of Life" series. Dates, fun and jokes until something tragic happens.


**Work and Play**

By: Katrina Halliwell

_**Disclaimer: All characters related to "Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye" are owned by PAXson Entertainment and Pebblehut Productions. A big thank you goes out to the show's writers for creating such wonderful characters to work with. And thanks to deedle, Lizzy, Emily, and anyone else I might have forgotten for being my fans all the way through my writer's block.**_

_Please note: Some scenes are intense and may not be suitable for certain audiences. This takes place after the "Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye" season two finale, "The Kiss."_

**At the office**

"Tara! Tara, wait!"

"Oh no," groaned Tara, "not again!"

Tara Williams tried to ignore the big ego-ed Myles Leland the Third, who was coming the down the hall, as she dashed to her desk.

"Tara, have I got news for you!"

"What is it, Myles? Another blind date? You do know I'm still going out with Chris... I mean someone."

"No, it's not another blind date. What made you think that?"

Tara stared angrily at Myles as if to say _like-you-don't-know_.

"Ahem. Anyways, you know Nora Albright, yeah?" Myles eagerly asked.

"Yeah. So what about her?"

As this was going on, the rest of the bullpen were struggling to pretend to be involved in their work but this was way too good to miss! One by one, they started looking up. Sue & Levi, Bobby, Jack, Lucy, and finally, Dimitrius.

"Well, we're officially going out!" announced Myles as if it were the most important thing in the world and puffed out his chest.

Then, as if on cue, Levi barked and everyone stood to give a standing ovation to Myles. Caught off guard, he looked around, startled, saw the approval on his colleagues' faces, and relaxed long enough to take an elegant bow.

"OK, back to work people. I think we've all had enough excitement for one day. Isn't that right, Levi?" asked Jack, who received a bark in response.

"Levi!" exclaimed Sue. "You're supposed to be on my side, not Jack's!"

"It's OK, Sue. Everyone knows that we're going out, but…" Jack looked directly at Myles "… they also know that they're not supposed to harass us about it."

Myles cleared his throat. "Well, I think this time I agree with Jack. Let's get back to work," and with that, Myles swivelled around and strutted to his desk like a peacock, while everyone else just looked on with laughter.

About four and a half hours later, Jack stretched out in his chair but caught Sue looking at him in mid-stretch, and stopped his exercise, embarrassed.

Raising an eyebrow, Jack asked, _What?_

_You're so cute when you're stressed out,_ Sue signed.

_Thank you,_ he signed back, and then mouthed his words. _Do you want to go out for lunch?_

_Yes!_ smiled Sue and gave a note to Levi, who went over to Jack to give it to him. Jack read the note and smiled as he stood up and clapped his hands together.

"OK, everyone, lunch! Take your time since you've all worked hard this morning!"

"Jack," Myles started up, "the only reason why you want us to take our time is so that you and your lady friend, Sue, can have the office to yourselves doing God knows what."

"Yeah!" agreed Lucy. "Or maybe you just don't want to pay for our bill."

"You guys, stop it!" Sue cut in, blushing. "The only reason why Jack said to take your time is probably because he like the quietness that was in this room."

"Yeah, what Sue said," concluded Jack. "Plus, I think we all could use some fresh air considering the fact that we've been breathing the same air for about 5 hours. It's got to do something to a guy… uh, person."

"Right, mate. Don't you hate being politically correct?" grinned Bobby. "Anyways, since we all know that breathing our air makes Mr. High Class, other there, feel so out of class."

"Maybe you're right," said Myles and, avoiding an argument, waltzed out the door like a royal prince.

"I bet you he has a lunch date with Nora," challenged Lucy.

"How much?" Bobby asked.

"Lunch."

"Deal's on! Let's go pick up Darcy."

Grabbing their coats and wallets, Lucy and Bobby left the office to get Darcy in high spirits as Tara suddenly got an IM from her current boyfriend, Christian.

**INSTANT MESSAGE:**

**TLuver: Hi Tara!**

Lola: Hi Christian.

**TLuver: Watcha doing for lunch?**

Lola: Nothing

**TLuver: Good. Meet me at Jefferson's.**

Lola: Deal

"Gotta go. I have a date with Christian."

"Have fun, Tara," answered Sue, who glanced over to Jack.

"You two go ahead. I just have some stuff to finish," Dimitrius said from behind a stack of papers.

"Are you sure, D? Someone else could take a stack from your mountainous burden," Jack concernedly asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Half of it is just reading anyways. Don't worry about me. I'll yell if I need any help."

"Alright. Just remember to call us if you need help, OK?"

"Gotcha."

**Lunch dates**

Sue and Jack are eating lunch at Jefferson's, just tables away from Tara and Christian, but they did chit-chat for a little when Sue and Jack first arrived at the coffee shop. Apparently, the roast-beef sandwich was the special and was superb!! So that was what Sue and Jack decided to order along with sweet tea. Following their order, Sue mentioned that Allie said something about making Jack do something completely embarrassing, which caused Jack to launch into that very story…

"…that was so funny!" laughed Sue. "I can't believe that Allie actually made you do that!"

"Yeah, I know," Jack ran his fingers through his hair, feeling a little embarrassed but completely happy, "but when you're young and in love…"

"…you do the strangest things." Sue laughed again, then sighed. "Wow, we're finishing each other's sentences now. Yet, I still can't believe that this is actually happening. It feels like a dream… What?!"

Jack was staring at Sue, memorizing her every detail, and not wanting to forget any of the secret dates he had been on with Sue. The blonde put her hand on her date's to snap him back to reality but it only caused Jack to lean forward and kiss her. Not wanting to break the mood, Sue leaned into the kiss and…

"Ahem," coughed waiter, "your food's here."

Sue and Jack sprung apart, feeling really embarrassed, as the waiter placed their order on the table and leaves.

"Well, that was embarrassing," Jack commented as he loosened his collar.

"Yeah," agreed Sue. "Maybe next time we should do the outside."

"Yeah, but someone from the team might be there. God, this is so complicated!!"

"What's _so_ complicated?"

Sue and Jack turned to see Tara and Christian at their table. Surprised, Sue asked Tara if she wanted to join them, who answered "Yes." So they helped Sue and Jack move their food to a table for four and, there, they started up separate conversations.

Meanwhile, Myles and Nora were having lunch at an expensive restaurant, but since they both could afford it, they did not really care…

"…I still can't believe that this was really happening," Myles was saying.

"I know, especially since you blew me off for not making you the main character of my novel," smiled Nora.

While the two sophisticated lovebirds were exchanging their pleasantries, Lucy, Bobby and Darcy were tables away. Hiding behind their menus, they were actually spying on Myles (what else?).

"I still can't believe you were right, Luce. Man, now I have to buy lunch at this overpriced restaurant!" complained Bobby.

"Hey! I like this restaurant! And just because I actually can afford this shouldn't change anything!" Darcy retorted, feeling hurt.

"Sorry, sheila, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

"It's OK."

Bobby kissed Darcy's hands as they shared a _moment_, which left Lucy to feel like she was the fifth wheel.

"Hey ya lovebird, aren't we studying the courting tactics of Myles instead of the Aussies'?" joked D as he joined the group.

"Sorry, mate, just wanted to have a moment with the lil' lady here," apologized the Aussie agent as he pulled himself away from his dirty blonde girlfriend.

"And making Lucy all squirmy? I don't think so!"

"It's alright D," chimed in Lucy. "They gave me more time to find the most expensive thing on this menu."

"Koala boy, you paying?" asked D, already knowing the answer to the question, and innocently raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. And it's gonna cost me a pretty penny!"

D laughed. "Don't worry, koala boy, I'll help you pay. "

"Thanks, D. I knew I could count on you, mate!"

"Just don't you all get the most expensive thing. I've got a family to support, you know!"

"Yeah, we know," smiled Lucy, who got the hint.

The foursome looked over the Myles' table, searching something to tease Myles with when everyone returned to the bullpen, while they ate lunch.

"Y'know, Myles, your friends are spying on us," observed Nora, as she ate her (guess what?) roast beef sandwich.

"Yeah, now I know how Sue and Jack feels!" Myles said, clearly not caring since he was having such a good time.

"You mean they do this to the closet lovers? Poor souls!"

It was so obvious that Myles had a thing for Nora since they were acting almost exactly like Sue and Jack, without all the denial!! There was such a positive atmosphere around them, they were constantly laughing at each other's jokes, and the fact the Myles and Nora actually looked like they were the perfect person for each other made the moment seem so cute.

After a lovely lunch, everyone was back at the bullpen working the same way they were in the morning, making the office nice and quiet. Yet no one could stop thinking about what had happened during lunch. Well... at least not the lovebirds!!

"Hey, Luce!" said Sue, trying to get Lucy's attention.

"Yeah?" Lucy lifted her head from behind a stack of papers.

_How was Myles' date?_ signed Sue, not wanting to involve anyone else or disturb the peace.

_Why don't you ask him?_ Lucy signed back and giggled. _Just joking. It was quite a sight. Myles was having a blast and so was Nora!_

Sue glanced over at Myles, who was as happy as can be, and laughed. _That is quite a sight. Maybe we should tease him about it._

_Not now! You'll just ruin his day. Not that I care._

_Of course not!_

_Anyways, how as your date with Jack?_

_Good._

_Good? That's all you're going to say?_

"Hey, you two, cut it out! You're supposed to be working, unless you're done," said Jack, trying to get some order as he noticed Sue and Lucy having a conversation.

"You're just jealous that you don't understand what we're saying, Jack," Sue teased.

"So, you're done?"

"Yep." Sue picked up her stack of papers and plopped it down on Jack's desk. "Here you go. It's your turn to sign them."

"Thanks," Jack said sarcastically as he buried himself back into his stack of papers. Sue just grinned, as she received high-fives and thumb-ups from her co-workers. Then she went back to her desk to continue her conversation with Lucy. As it turned out, Tara and Lucy were having a conversation of their own as they waited for Sue's return.

_What are you talking about?_ asked Sue.

_How cute you and Jack are when you fight._ They all laughed. _Just kidding. We were really talking about Myles._

_Yeah, and how romantic he was at lunch, _put in Lucy.

_So I heard,_ laughed Sue.

** At Sue's Apartment **

"I still can't believe that I said sausages instead of shoes! Poor guy," laughed Lucy, as she put her bags on the couch.

"Yeah, I know! And to think that you did that the whole time we were shopping," Sue teased as she headed to her room to put her things away.

Lucy shook her head in disbelief as she watched Levi and Sue's retreating form. In a few years, she and Sue has grown as close as sisters. From borrowing clothes to nagging each other about crushes, Lucy was grateful she had met Sue, especially since Sue _was_ the one who had put Myles in his place for cheating on her. Yet, there was one thing that still lingered in her mind...

"Sue?"

In Sue's bedroom, Sue was putting away her new shoes when Levi heard Lucy call her name. He barked and then nudged Sue towards the door. Not knowing what was going on, Sue reluctantly let Levi move her to the doorway where she saw Lucy.

"What is it, Luce?"

"I was just wondering..."

"You were just wondering what?"

"How was your date with Jack?"

Sue groaned. _Not this again!_ she thought, but then chuckles to herself. _Of course Lucy was gonna bug her about the date until she spills the beans! Let's stall._

"Good. What do you want to eat for dinner?" Sue tried in vain to change to subject.

"Don't change the subject on me, Sue Thomas," Lucy said, pretending to be stern. "Now, what it good as in chocolate good or mushy good?"

"Lucy!"

"Fine," Lucy gave up. "I'll go and make spaghetti."

"Fine," replied Sue, relieved that Lucy would not be bugging her for a while, and went to her room.

Levi looked at Sue's retreating form, and then Lucy, and lay down as he whined. Sympathizing with what Levi was feeling, Lucy bent down and scratched his head.

"Levi," sighed Lucy, "you hate it when we fight, don't you boy? You're lucky you're not a human or you'll get pulled into our fights! Poor Levi."

Continuing to scratch Levi's head for a while, Lucy pondered about what would've happened if Levi was a "real" boy. Then Lucy got up, and washed her hands, as she made the spaghetti for dinner.

Meanwhile, in her bedroom, Sue was sprawled in her bed, and staring up at the ceiling, thinking.

_Oh God,_ she thought, _why is it that _my_ life is so hard? It's so not fair. I wish that it was easier. Why can't everyone just leave me and Jack alone? It's so not fair._

Completely frustrated, Sue cried out loud, "It's so not fair!!"

As if he felt her pain, Levi walked into the room and rested his head in her hand, soothing her.

"Oh, hi Levi," said Sue, then she sighed. "I wish you were human. That way I would be dating you and Lucy wouldn't be trying to set me up with Jack."

Levi whined as if to sympathize with her, as Sue continued, "but I'm not saying I don't want to be with Jack, just that we're not supposed to be together. Rules are rules."

At that very moment, Lucy walked into the room and flickered the lights. Sue sat up and looked at Lucy, who said, "but rules are meant to be broken. C'mon dinner's ready."

"How long have you been listening?" Sue questioned, suspicious and emotional.

"I just came, like, two seconds ago. I swear. All I heard was you saying that you and Jack aren't supposed to be together," confessed Lucy.

"Are you sure?"

_Definitely,_ signed Lucy.

"Sure sure?"

"Yeah. Let's eat!" laughed Lucy.

"Alright! Cuz Levi and I are starving!" grinned Sue as they head to the kitchen to eat dinner.

**Jack's apartment**

Meanwhile, Bobby was over at Jack's spending some quality guy time together. Jack was looking forward for some peace and quiet, and a little bit of hockey, but Bobby, like Lucy, had other things on his mind.

"So you and Sue, huh?" smirked Bobby.

"I-I dunno," Jack shrugged. "I mean, I, uh, want to be with her, but you know the rules."

"No dating in the same team," chorused the two, then they started laughing as they both rolled their eyes.

"I'm gonna get a beer," Bobby said as he got up, "you want one too, mate?"

"Sure, thanks."

Leaving the room, Bobby gave Jack some time to think about the situation between him and Sue. For the first time that day, Jack started to doubt that their relationship was going to work. Getting down on his knees, Jack began to pray.

"Oh God, why did you have to make this so complicated?! I really, really want to be with Sue, but the rules forbid it. What should I do? Please, God, give me a sign!! God, I feel like Romeo from _Romeo and Juliet_!"

"Romeo and Juliet, eh?"

Startled by the sound of Bobby's voice, Jack looked up to see Bobby coming back with the beers, and a smile on his face. Grinning, he thanked his Australian buddy as Jack opens his beer.

"Yeah, Romeo and Juliet, but not as quick, y'know? There's only so much we could do in a week."

"You're right, mate," laughed Bobby.

"As long as you don't die, I'm happy," he grinned, slapping Jack on the back.

"Yeah, well, thanks, I think," Jack replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Hey man," Bobby suddenly thought of something.

"Hmm?"

"What are we gonna eat?"

"I dunno. Maybe we could cook up something?"

"No way, mate. We'll end up burning down your place."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. The hunger must be getting to me."

"I think me too, 'cuz I just thought of something outrageous."

"How outrageous?"

"Going-over-to-Sue-and-Lucy's-to beg-for-food outrageous."

"Whoa! Even I didn't think of that!" Jack grinned wickedly.

"Your loss, mate. Now I can claim credit for this!" kidded Bobby.

"Ha ha. Let's go, I'm starving!" Jack grabbed his coat and his car keys, as he headed to his car.

"Hey man! Wait up!" said Bobby as he snagged his coat and followed Jack out the door.

**The best friends' dinner**

Back at Sue and Lucy's, the best friends were chowing down on the spaghetti, having a conversation about winter and the upcoming season… Spring!

"I'm SO glad that winter's almost over!!! I can't wait for the spring!!" exclaimed Lucy.

"Says you," Sue argued. "I love the snow!!"

"Well, at least we aren't in Canada. I hear it's freezing at this time of the year."

"At least they have that huge skating rink," put in Sue, "the Rideau Canal."

"Yeah, but I'm still not going up there! It's WAY too cold!!"

"What's wrong with a little cold? Well, you're gonna have to sacrifice something for that skating rink. But I wouldn't want to walk Levi in the morning. Brr..."

"See! It is too cold! I..." started Lucy before she was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Sue, says Lucy before Levi could get up from the floor, "the door."

"What about the door?" asked Sue innocently, then pretended that she got a bright idea. "You," she pointed at Lucy, "want me," pointed at herself, "to get the door?"

Lucy laughed as Sue tried to raise one eyebrow but failed miserably. Shaking her head, and grinning ear-to-ear, Lucy got up from her seat and opened the door to reveal...

"Hey Luce!" chorused the pair of handsome visitors.

"Bobby!! Jack!! What are you doing here?"

"Um..." Bobby loosened his tie as he stood there, uncomfortable, with nothing smart to say.

"You know how Bobby and I can't cook anything without burning it and the house?" spoke up Jack.

"Yeah, and?" prompted Lucy, as she looked at them expectantly.

"Well, we, uh, that is _Bobby_ thought that, um, we could, ah, eat dinner with you guys, y'know? As, like, a best friends' dinner? How about it?"

"I dunno…"

"Lucy, who's at the door?" a voice asked from behind her, as Lucy turned to see Sue walking up to the door.

"It's Bobby and Jack. They forgot to invite Darcy to their annual meeting again," she answered.

"You mean they forgot they couldn't cook without burning down their place," said Sue, with a sparkle in her eye as she walked up beside Lucy.

"Ha ha. Very funny," Jack sarcastically replied as his eyes warmed up at the sight of Sue.

"So, sheila, could we come in cuz I'm starving!" pondered Bobby with a grin as he caught Lucy's eye and winked.

"Sure! Come on in!" Lucy invited as she returned Bobby's wink with a secretive smile.

As they walked to the kitchen, there was an awkward silence between Sue and Jack. Little did they know of the fate laid ahead of them…

"Y'know, I totally forgot that this was supposed to be a two person meal. Sue, how about we order some Chinese or something?"

"It's alright, Lucy," Jack quickly put in. "I think we men could eat less for _one_ day."

"Yeah! That's right, mate," agreed Bobby as he grabbed a plate out of the cupboard and got some spaghetti for his growling stomach.

"Hey! You're supposed to seat the ladies first," scolded Jack, reaching for a plate himself.

"You're both hopeless," laughed Sue, as the girls continued where they left off, before they were so rudely interrupted.

"Why do you want to go to Canada anyways? Did you know the natives there live in igloos?" Lucy asked, intrigued.

"Oh, don't be so arrogant!" laughed Sue, shaking her head.

"Well, it's true!" insisted Lucy.

"For people who live up in the Arctic, sheila," Bobby educated through mouthfuls of food.

"Oh, don't be a smart aleck, Bobby," Jack scolded again. "You're just gonna get into trouble talking back to a lady."

Bobby looked at Jack pointedly as the girls burst out laughing. Even though it was rather obvious that Bobby knew he was joking, Jack still looked a little apologetic. Nevertheless, the guys were glad that they were entertaining the girls rather efficiently, but that was all going to change…

"So, what would you guys say about going up to Canada?" asked Lucy.

"I'd say there'll be a 50/50 chance that Bobby and I would be playing hockey on our spare time," Jack replied with a smirk.

"That way no one would be able to call us!" laughed Bobby. "Isn't that right, mate?"

Before Jack could answer, a gunshot rang through the apartment, startling everyone but Sue. Barking, Levi tried to warn Sue about the danger, but by reading the fear in her friends' faces, Sue had already suspected that there was something terribly wrong.

"Luce? Bobby? Jack? What's wrong?"

Instead of replying, Jack put his index finger to his lips, indicating silence, as he and Bobby reached for their guns. Slowly and stealthily, the two men walked to the living room with their guns in front of them, ready to fire upon anything that moved, preparing themselves for what awaited them.

_What's going on?_ Sue desperately signed. _What did you hear? What is it?_

_I don't know,_ Lucy honestly replied. _There was a gunshot. I think someone broke into our apartment!_

Sue's eyes widened at Lucy's last sentence. _Oh my gosh!_ she fearfully thought, _someone broke into our apartment! Oh god, please let it be Troy, please God, please._

Two more gunshots echoed in the apartment, which made Lucy jump out of her seat and Levi start barking again. By now, even Sue was terribly frightened, even though she could not hear what was happening. _What's going on?_ Sue thought, momentarily filled with hope._ Why is someone breaking into our apartment? Maybe it's Troy!_

On either side of the opening that led to the living room, Bobby and Jack took a deep breath and look at each other. Giving a slight nod, Jack swung into the living room at the same time as Bobby.

"F.B.I.! Drop the gun!" Jack yelled at the intruder.

As if sensing defeat, the intruder slowly put his gun on the floor and put his hands in the air. Swiftly, Bobby kicked the gun over to Jack and grabbed the guy's arms.

"What are you doing here, mate? Why did you break into this apartment?"

"None of your biz, _fed_," sneered the intruder.

"It is now, mate!" Bobby sneered back, clearly wanting to punch the guy. "My friends business is _my_ business."

"Well then it's your loss."

"Alright! Be quiet you two!" ordered Jack as he disarmed the gun. "You're giving me a headache!"

Satisfied with himself, Jack headed towards the kitchen to tell the girls what happened, but had to stop before he started since the girls were already headed his way, looking very frightened yet perplexed.

"Hey girls! I was just coming to get y-WHOA!" Jack suddenly moved aside as a flash of gold flew past Jack in a rage of barking madness, followed by Sue and Lucy.

"Stop, Levi! Stop!" cried Sue as she struggled to control her furry companion. "It's alright, boy. He can't hurt us anymore."

"Come here, boy! Come here Levi!" Lucy called with no success. Filled with fury, Levi barked, snapped, and growled at the intruder for potentially harming the girls' lives, paying no heed to the ones who were calling to him.

"Nice dog you have," smirked the intruder. "Hope he's _that_ ferocious when someone actually attack you, lil' lady. Hmmm… let's test that theory!"

Executing a series of jiu-jitsu moves, the man caught Bobby off-guard. Releasing his grip on the man, Bobby raised his hands instinctively to shield his face. Freed, the intruder grabbed Sue and put a knife to her throat as he backed away toward the door.

"The blondie's dead if you even move an inch!" he snarled. "And drop the guns!"

Reluctantly, Jack and Bobby dropped their weapons onto the floor as they ran scenarios through their heads, searching for the one that would save Sue, yet nothing sprung to their minds. With eyes filled with anger, Jack glowered at the man who was holding the knife to one of his best friend's throat, and noticed a tattoo between the man's thumb and index finger.

"What are ya staring at?" jeered the man. "Take one last look at your girlfriend here, cuz it'll be your last!"

Paralyzed with horror, Jack watched Sue leave as he desperately tried to lock eyes with her, to tell her that he'll come to her aid and be her Prince Charming. Yet, all he got was the look of triumph in the intruder's eyes as he closed the door behind him, leaving a room filled with fear and anger.

"Sue!" Jack whispered, not willing to believe that she was actually gone. "Sue!"

**Three Hours Later**

Back in the bullpen, Jack was pacing around the office, muttering to himself, as everyone else tried to find reasons as to why someone would kidnap Sue. Nothing was working and everybody was agitated and getting onto everyone else's nerves.

"I can't believe that I let this happen!" Jack frustratedly said out loud. "I could've done something!"

"And would could you have done, mate?" asked Bobby, who was equally frustrated.

"I don't know! Something!"

"Then why didn't you think of this _something_ before, huh Jack?" exclaimed Myles, tauntingly.

"Stop it you guys!" Dimitrius tried to intervene. "This isn't helping!"

"Well, you sure aren't doing anything to stop it!" Bobby shot back.

As the guys continued fighting, Lucy and Tara were slumped in their desks, rubbing their temples. The girls knew that arguing was pointless, even if it did relieve some stress. Yet with tempers flaring higher and faster than the mercury on a hot summer's day, Lucy and Tara decided that egos were growing faster than ideas.

"That's enough!" they cried.

All heads turned to the direction of the sound as the girls walked up to the guys. Utterly shocked that _girls_ managed to stop their arguing when one of their own could not, the guys stopped in their tracks with their mouths gaping wide open. Quite proud of what they managed to do, Lucy and Tara silently designated themselves as the lead agents of this so-called "case."

"Finally!" Lucy gave a small smile of victory. "All that arguing was giving me a headache!"

"Me too!" chirped Tara. "I've forgotten how loud you guys could argue."

Everyone cracked up at Tara's comment. Grateful that the girls had managed to end their fighting, Jack suggested that everyone should go home and get some rest but Bobby pointed out that even if they did, Jack would still be at the office pulling an all-nighter. Unable to argue fact, Jack reluctantly let everyone stay at the office but he made sure that everyone got to sleep that night. The next morning, Jack was awaken by the smell of food.

"Good morning everyone!" Lucy said cheerfully as she came into the bullpen with breakfast. "Food anyone?"

"Thanks Luce!" I'm starving!" grinned Bobby as he reached for a bag.

"Down boy!" Lucy playfully ordered, turning her back to him as she headed to Tara's desk. "Tara, you get first dibs this morning."

"Thanks Luce!" exclaimed Tara as she peeked into all the bags and carefully selected one. "You're a lifesaver!"

"What are rotors for?" joked Lucy as she headed to Myles' desk. "Your turn, Myles."

Puzzled, yet grateful for nutrition that would satisfy his growling stomach, Myles randomly grabbed a bag of food as Jack stretched from his desk. Still hounding after Lucy for his chance to get some breakfast, Bobby followed Lucy around like a faithful sidekick.

"Is it my turn yet?"

"No."

"Is it my turn yet?"

"No."

"Is it…"

"Bobby, give it up! You're last!"

Taking one last look at Bobby's puppy's face, Lucy over to Jack's desk and put a bag there as she handed Bobby his breakfast. Profusely and sarcastically thanking her, Bobby stopped following Lucy around the bullpen and went to his desk to munch on his breakfast.

The morning light shone in from the single window with open blinds as sun started to rise. Spilling onto Sue's desk, bathed the area in a golden glow as if it was basking in holy light. Taking it as a message from the God Almighty, Jack sighed with relief. _She's alright!_ he thought happily. _She's alright!_ Energized by the epiphany, Jack took out a piece of paper and started compiling a list of people who would have a motive to kidnap Sue.

On the other side of the room, Bobby and Myles were not having any luck. With D gone to take care of his kids, the two agents had raided all of the senior agent's pens and paper clips, and constructed creations of some sort throughout the night in order to ease their minds of the kidnapping.

"Hey Myles!"

"Yeah Bobby?"

"What's Jack doing?"

"I dunno, mate. Let's go check it out!"

As they walked over to Jack's desk, the two agent paused briefly at Sue's work area, touching her desk, as if to draw some of her rebellious yet true spirit into them. Nearing Jack, they took a good look at him, noticing that, for the first time since Sue went missing, Jack had a calmer look to him. It was similar to the way he would've looked if Jack actually received a visit from God, telling him that Sue was going to be alright and that the team would be able to save her.

"Hey Jack?" Myles softly asked. "Are you alright?"

"Huh? Yeah, fine." Jack looked up from his list and flashed his famous smile. "Why?"

"Cuz you seem a little off, mate."

"And we, ah," Myles paused briefly, searching for the right word, " a tad concerned about you. After all it is _Sue_ who has been kidnapped."

Jack smiled at his two friends, complete contrasts of each other's personalities, standing there at his desk, concerned about the same thing. Of all the combinations of people, he least likely expected these two. Yet it is the rough times that brings the team closer together.

"I'm fine," Jack gratefully answered. "Really. I just have a feeling that Sue's alright. C'mon, let's go through her things and see if we could find anything."

"Just what we were thinking, mate," replied Bobby. "Just what we were thinking."

The three agents worked silently together looking for something that might have possibly lead to their fellow agent's kidnapping. Determined more than ever, they were going to solve no matter the cast. Justice is what the F.B.I. represented and justice is what the agents strived for.

Meanwhile, Lucy and Tara were already at Sue's desk going through her computer files, searching for the something the men were. Frustrated from not finding anything after going through Sue's computer twice, the girls decided to take a break and went to the coffee station to get some more fuel.

"I'm starting to think that this was a random kidnapping," Lucy quietly spoke up.

"Why's that?" asked Tara as she poured some hot cocoa.

"Well, there hasn't been any evidence that anything Sue was doing would lead to the–" Lucy choked off, unable to continue the thought.

"I know," sighed Tara, comforting her friend while she struggled within to hold back her feelings that were threatening to overwhelm her. Looking at Lucy, Tara knew that she was going to have to be strong for Sue's best friend.

"But why her? Why Sue?" Lucy managed to whisper as tears rolled down her face.

At a loss for words, Tara just shrugged and hugged her friend. Sadness, grief, and anger were growing inside them all, battering against their mental shields, threatening to break them, but what had kept them from being overwhelmed was their friendships.

"I don't know, Luce," Tara said sympathetically. "I don't know. Let's go get Levi, OK?"

The tears of sorrow that were rolling down Lucy's face flew onto Tara's shirt as she nodded. Leaving the boys to what they were doing, the girls left the bullpen, clinging onto each other for emotional and physical support, silently walking to the parking lot in the quiet morning.

"Where's Lucy and Tara going?" asked Jack as he watched them go.

"To get Levi," replied Bobby without looking up. "They'll be back."

All of sudden a dialog box popped up. _You've got mail!_ Myles wistfully thought. _I should rent that some time and watch it with Nora._ He clicked the _OK_ button, which opened up Sue's email. Quickly reading it, Myles found something that was important and typed a response.

"Hey Myles, what are you doing?" Jack demanded as he noticed Myles typing.

"Answering this email. Apparently our favourite lip-reader has been accepted into a supposed covert branch of the CIA called 'SD-2.' As you might have heard, SD-2 is part of an organization called 'The Alliance' which was taken down by a CIA agent by the name of Sydney Bristow," explained Myles as he reread his response.

"Uh-no. How big was this 'Alliance' organization?" Jack prompted.

"Huge. Basically the Alliance was in the business of smuggling weapons, top-secret government plans, things of the illegal sort."

"Sounds like an impressive rep, mate, but what has this got to do with Sue," pondered Bobby.

"You haven't heard about this Alliance, right?" Myles pointed out as his fellow agent nodded. "So it's a good assumption Sue hasn't either. So I've sent back an email asking about SD-2 and what not."

"Ah!" Bobby said, suddenly understanding. "You're thinking that perhaps this SD-2 could be somehow related to Sue's kidnapping. Right, mate?"

"Bingo Bobby! So if this person," Myles indicated the email, "knew anything that could even be linked to this case, we would be able to find Sue and have everything to go back to normal."

"Wow." Bobby and Myles turned to Jack, having forgotten that he was there. "I didn't know you cared about Sue that much, Myles."

"Ahem." Myles blushed a deep red, completely flustered about the compliment, which caused his fellow agents to laugh. Just then Jack's phone rang.

"Hello? Lucy? What's wrong? Whoa! Slow down!" Jack tried to calm Lucy down, struggling to understand his friend.

"OMG!" sobbed Lucy. "There's a message on the machine and–"

"Luce? Are you there? Lucy? Tara? Hello?"

"What's going on mate?" asked Bobby.

"I don't know," Jack honestly answered, worrying about Lucy and Tara. "Lucy said something about a message on a machine and then she just broke off."

"Then what are you waitin' for? C'mon! Let's go!" said Myles hurriedly, grabbing his jacket.

Jack and Bobby stared at Myles, shocked. They've never seen this side of him before. _Where is the world did this side of Myles come from?_ they asked themselves, but decided to put off the thought until later since there might something terribly wrong at Lucy's apartment.

"Shall we?" Jack gestured the door as he and Bobby raced out after Myles.

**The Message**

Meanwhile, Tara and Lucy were trying to get the growling Levi to let them into Sue's bedroom but so far they had not had any luck. Snapping at the girls every time they got near him, Levi refused entry for the girls to his owner's room ferociously.

"Levi, what's wrong boy? It's just me, Lucy. Please let me in!" pleaded Lucy.

"C'mon Levi! We're not gonna hurt you," Tara joined in, "we just wanna help Sue too!"

Ignoring their pleas, Levi looked like an alpha wolf who was preparing to fight the challenger of the pack. It was obvious that Levi was guarding someone or some_thing_, but what? As the guys burst through the door, Tara and Lucy were still trying to get Levi to let them into Sue's room without getting attacked by the usually sweet golden retriever.

"What's up with Levi, sheila?" asked Bobby, who slowly walked up to the girls.

"We don't know," Lucy answered. "We tried to get into Sue's room when we got here and Levi came out acting like this."

"We've been trying to get Levi to let us in ever since," piped up Tara while she just narrowly missed getting bitten by Levi.

"Here boy! Come here Levi!" called Jack, hoping to snap Levi back to normal. Upon hearing Jack's voice, the canine's ears perked up and ran over to Jack, acting like the good ole Levi. "Good boy! Good boy!"

"My guess is Sue told him to act like that until Jack arrived," observed Myles, amazed. "Smart dog!"

"Well, it doesn't matter who told who what right now," Jack stated. "What matters is what Levi was guarding. C'mon!"

Jack petted Levi affectionately as they all ran to Sue's room but a quick look inside showed nothing suspicious. Silently, Lucy and Tara searched for something odd or out of place when Myles spotted something on the dresser and went to get a closer look. It was a tape recorder.

"Hey everyone! I found something!" he exclaimed.

Bobby appeared beside Myles. "What is it, mate?"

"A tape recorder."

"Is it yours, Lucy?" Myles asked, receiving a quick shake of the head. "Well, I know it's not Levi's so whose is it?"

"I have no idea," answered Lucy.

"No one touch it," Jack instructed. "We need to lift fingerprint before we do anything."

"Myles, call Ted and tell him what's going on. Bobby, Jack, go through the rest of the apartment and see if you notice anything else out of the ordinary," ordered Tara, quickly taking charge of the situation. "Lucy, could you get some coffee please?"

"My pleasure!"

As she left the room, Lucy chuckled to herself. They guys looked so bewildered at the fact that Tara had given them orders. Apparently, they weren't accustomed to a _girl_ had given them orders. Jaws almost touched the floor as Myles, Bobby and Jack stared at Tara in disbelief, causing Tara to laugh along with Lucy.

"You guys look like deer staring at the headlights of an incoming truck," she giggled. "C'mon!"

A few hours later, everyone was back in the bullpen waiting for the fingerprint results from the tape recorder, haven found nothing else suspicious in the apartment. The suspense in the office was so thick that it felt like molasses; and to make things worse, the furnace was broken again and the heat was hearing unbearable. Droplets of seat rolled down the faces of the working agents in the room and dripped onto the papers of their desks as they promptly wiped the offending wetness away. Just starting his work day, Ted Garrett walked into the bullpen to find the agents working feverishly.

"Good morning everyone!" greeted the black man. "Sure is warm in here, is the furnace broken again?"

Grim faces turned to the direction of the salutation, silently, hoping that this man was the bearer of good news. Yet it suddenly dawned on them that their boss had not hear the news.

Uncertain what was troubling his friends, the newcomer looked around the room, finally resting of Sue's desk. "What's going on? Where's Sue?" he asked Jack, holding him in his gaze.

Grief flashed in Agent Hudson's eyes, quickly replaced by anger and defeat. Suddenly the tension in the room was thicker than the suspense; the temperature a lot colder.

"Kidnapped," came a whisper from behind the usually confident man, causing Ted Garrett to spin around.

"Did I hear you correctly, Tara? Kidnapped?" His deep brown eyes peered into the replier's green ones. "What do you mean kidnapped? How? When?!"

"Last night. From our apartment." The barely audible answer dissipated from the lips of the bullpen's rotor, who was clearly distressed about the current status of her best friend.

Shock appeared on Ted's face as he realized the depth of the situation. A quick glance around the room showed him what he did not realize before, the team had been up all night, in the blistering heat, working on find Sue's kidnapper. _Everyone here is involved,_ he thought. _They want to be the ones who find Sue's kidnapper and have retribution._

Then the tech guy walked in. "Hey Tara! Here are the results you wanted."

Everyone dashed up from their seats, towards the results, as Tara thanked the tech guy. Opening the folder that contained the results, she quickly scanned it and smiled happily at the results. Hope glimmered in her eyes as she passed the folder over to Lucy who passed it to the rest of the group after a quick glance.

Lucy's heart swelled with joy as she hugged Tara. Their prayers had been answered! A small moment of joy in a time of much grief and sorrow. Travelling all the way to the hands of Agent Garrett, he opened the folder and said out loud what everyone had been silently celebrating. "These are Sue's fingerprints!! Sue's alive!!"

Bobby whooped as Jack and Myles grinned ear-to-ear and received enormous hugs from Tara and Lucy. Awakened to the sound of Ted proclaiming that his companion and friend was alive, Levi jumped down from Sue's desk and joined the celebration, barking and jumping and getting petted. Even Ted got swallowed in the girls' hugs and had to hug them in returned for some breathing space and shook hands with the guys.

"OK, everyone!" Tara displayed the cassette that was in the recorder. "Let's hear what's on here."

Ted put up this hands to stop the commotion. "Hold on! Where's Levi? He might wanna hear this."

The canine nudged the questioner's hand, whining softly as if to say _What are you waiting for? C'mon! Let's hear it! C'mon! C'mon!_

Jack grinned at Levi. "I guess Levi's just as anxious as us to hear what the message is."

"Hopefully it's Sue telling us that she's alright," Lucy optimistically said.

"Don't we all, sheila, don't we?" laughed Bobby as he clasped Jack's shoulder. "C'mon Tara, what are you waiting for?"

Tara flashed a smile and put the cassette in the recorder. Taking a deep breath, she swallowed hard and looked up at her expecting colleagues. They were all waiting for her to press play, expecting the worse or the better, and Tara had the privilege of broadcasting whether it was the former or the latter.

"Alrighty," she said. "Here it goes! Buckle in everyone."

"_Hey everyone! It's me, Sue!" laughed the recording. "How is everyone? Fine I hope. You better not have lost any sleep worrying about me cuz…. Well, I miss you all, especially Levi. I wish I could've brought you with me, boy."_

Barking at the compliment, Levi walked over to Lucy and put his paw on her lap. The agents had brought their seats over and they were glad they did, for the sound of Sue's sweet voice would have brought them, trembling, to their knees from relief if they had not. Lucy put her hand over Levi's paw and they all listened on.

"_You guys don't have to worry about me, I'm fine. Except for the moment that I had a knife to my throat, I promise you shouldn't worry about me. Especially you, Lucy. Plus now you'll have more time to plan on how to get Jack and I together, right?" Sue chattered on happily._

_Suddenly her tone changed into a serious one, not to mention it was whisper. "I'm not even supposed make this so I'll take fast. I'm doing some serious training for a huge uncover job. I still can't believe that I'm actually doing this!" she squealed. "Anyhow, I know it's hard for you guys to not worry about me, but you all know me, I'll make it through – I'm stronger than I look, y'know!"_

"_Look, I have to go," Sue hurriedly finished. "I'm putting this somewhere someone would find it, hopefully it won't be the police. Please don't find me, I'll be home as soon as this is all over. I love you guys! Take care of Levi for me, would you Jack? Thanks. Take care of yourself, I'll be there before you know it! Bye!"_

Silence.

The agents, stunned, sat in their chairs, wondering what just happened. As shocking as Sue's message was, it was a wee bit reassuring to hear her voice. At least they now know what Sue was doing, or had a vague idea, even if they did not know _where_ she was.

All of a sudden, the phone rang. Everybody jumped in their seats. Slowly, Jack hit the speaker button on the phone. "Hello?"

"If you value your friend's life," rasped a synthesized voice, "drop the case. NOW!"

There was a click as the caller hung up, followed by the dial tone. Whoever was after Sue wanted to make sure no one knew who they were. Jack's eyes flashed with vengeance as he picked up his gun and made way to leave the office.

"Hudson, where do you think you're going?" demanded Ted Garrett.

"To find whoever's doing this to Sue," Jack growled.

"And get yourself killed? I don't think so," retorted Dimitrius.

"_I don't care!"_ roared the vengeful man.

Bobby grabbed Jack's arms. "Too bad, mate, cuz we do."

Ted gingerly plucked Jack's gun from his hand. "Besides, if anything happens to you, Sue would personally kill us."

"We're in this together," Myles intoned, "whether you like it or not. After all, we've always been like musketeers, why stop now?"

" 'One for all,' " chanted Dimitrius, " ' and all for one!' "

Nodding, Jack smiled gratefully at the agents around him as he slowly calmed down. Whether it was work or play, they would stick together, support each other, no matter what. Whatever crossed their paths would have to face all of them...

_To be continued..._


End file.
